Anyone following Spore with as much interest as me (by that I mean anyone who has signed up for the Spore newsletter) has no doubt already heard about the Spore Creature Creator. For everyone else, here's the deal:
On June 17 you'll be able to download the entire Spore creature interface, which lets you design as many zany, fantastical creatures as you want (I'm kind of curious how closely I can approximate millipede--or maybe one with hooves). The free version gives you access to about a quarter of the creature bits available in the full editor. For $9.99 you can get access to everything.
Aside from the little bit of extra income (yeah, I think they should just offer the whole thing for free), this little package does two important things for Maxis:
- It introduces people to the game's editors. Not that Spore needs anymore hype, but the creature editors and the others like it in the game are likely to be the heart and soul of this thing. If people get hooked, they'll come back and buy the full game.
- It gives the developers a way to populate their universe. This was one of my main questions about the game. How were they planning to create millions of creatures for people to interact with? Sure, the volume would be there over time, but a game has to be fun right out of the box if people are going to buy it in any large numbers. And, while I'm sure a sizable team of people is working on the game, they couldn't possibly create the number (or variety) of creatures necessary to make the game really stand out. This way, just get yourself a hundred thousand or so downloads (just being conservative). If each person creates 10 creatures, you've got your first million right there in a few days. Not bad at all.
Pretty exciting stuff. And since Apple announced a refreshed iMac line today, I can pick up my new Spore gaming machine in time for the June 17. Oh, and GTA IV tomorrow. When is that government rebate check supposed to get here?
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